The software financial advisers say they can’t do without

These days, financial advisers and software are often inseparable. They use it for everything from checking in with clients during turbulent times to selecting funds, rebalancing portfolios and even managing their calendars.

The changing nature of the business has also driven advisers toward electronic help. The impending (though now-delayed) rollout of the Labor Department’s impending fiduciary rule, for example, has increased demand for compliance tools, while the growth of robo advisers has made portfolio analysis easier, faster and cheaper.

MarketWatch asked financial advisers and other experts about the tasks for which they found software indispensable — and why — in 2017, as well as what kinds of innovations might be next. Here’s what they told us:

CRMs house contact information and notes -- from meeting summaries and observations about a client’s investment preferences to their birthdays and favorite sports teams -- about clients, helping them strengthen relationships and make conversations more purposeful.

They can also act as a relationship history, which can be useful when disagreements between clients and advisers arise. And they often share information with other adviser software, improving efficiency and accuracy.

Financial planning. As robo advisers have commoditized asset allocation and made it possible for just about anybody to get a portfolio, the industry has gained a renewed interest in broader financial planning with advisers looking to offer clients holistic financial advice.

Financial planning programs are getting more robust, and include client-facing portals where the adviser and client can share documents and periodically update plans. Lately, more robo advisers have been adding human advisers to their services, since sometimes clients want to talk to actual people.

“You can’t provide the comprehensive financial planning without a reliable, intuitive, and web-based software,” said Rose Swanger, a financial adviser in Knoxville, Tenn. “Many times, clients don’t realize how their goals or ideas would affect their probability for their retirement success.”

Risk management. The stock market goes up and it goes down, but clients all react to it differently. Some may never touch their accounts, while other may seek to sell assets out of fear. Advisers looking to understand their clients’ tolerance for risk are increasingly turning to risk management software.

The offerings vary. Some provide risk questionnaires, while others simulate the effects of past crises, such as the Great Depression or the mid-2000s crash, to help clients understand the risks their portfolios carry.

The technology may get even more advanced, said Joel Bruckenstein, publisher of adviser technology newsletter Technology Tools for Today, with facial recognition software analyzing people’s reactions to their portfolios.

Data aggregation. Like Mint, which pulls in financial data from clients’ bank and credit card accounts, there are companies that show advisers similar information about their clients, such as how much they have in debts and assets and all of their financial accounts, in real-time.

Their purpose is to give advisers the freshest-possible data with which to provide recommendations; they can also eliminate the need for extensive paper files.

This saves advisers from time-consuming and potentially error-ridden data entry, making the client-adviser relationship more productive, according to Sue Glover, a financial adviser technology consultant.

Client portals. While many programs have document vaults, where advisers can store important client documents and forms -- such as a power of attorney -- some companies offer stand-alone client portals that gather all of them in one place, making them available for viewing and updating.

It’s more secure than sending documents via email, and is designed to give clients a sense of what’s going on with their finances through portfolio snapshots and other data. “Virtually all of your clients, except maybe your oldest, want access to their information 24/7,” Bruckenstein said. “They want it to be easy and seamless.”

Technology-focused advisers are on the hunt for more ways software can help them run their businesses. XY Planning Network, an organization for young advisers who work with millennial clients, will have its second financial technology competition later this year in a search for inventive software.

But last year’s winners illustrate the desire for new tools that could be used for both client service and practice management. They included Snappy Kraken, a referral generation program; College Affordability’s EFC PLUS, which navigates financially planning for college; and Data Points, a behavioral science approach to wealth management.

Alan Moore, co-founder of XY Planning Network, said he hopes to see software developed around student loan analysis and budgeting programs, too.

“Technology has been slow to develop in the adviser space,” said Moore, and advisers are also slow to adopt new technology.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.